Keeping Watch
by snchills
Summary: John may be dead but he’s still keeping watch over his boys. Hurt Dean Hurt Sam Ghost John.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: John may be dead but he's still watching over his boys. Hurt Dean Hurt Sam.

Authors note: This is another one of my half written stories that I let slide by the wayside. Perusing my Supernatural Fan Fic file (try saying _that_ 5 times) I came across this partially written story and decided to dust it off and give it another once over. I _have_ written more than just this chapter but losing your Muse is a terrible thing and I'm still not sure I have mine back. I'll let you be the judge. Thanks for reading.

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Weeks had passed since John's death. Weeks of their lives standing still not sure how to go on or even if they wanted too. In different ways they missed their Dad. Regret filled both of their hearts but for different reasons. Dean still wasn't talking and Sam was still trying to press the issue. Both victims of Winchester tenacity, they waited each other out to see who would break first. Would Dean start talking or would Sam finally give up. Their unspoken battle raged every day.

Every now and then John's spirit would come around his boys making sure they were both doing okay. With the boys trained to sense the presence of anything supernatural John had to struggle to stay in the background. A few times he thought Dean could sense him and he would go perfectly still, chiding himself afterwards for his retaining his human instincts, knowing Dean couldn't actually see him. Several times though Dean would be on the laptop doing research and would suddenly look around the room for no reason. The disappointment in Dean's eyes was always crushing to John when after a few seconds he would go back to what ever he was doing with a sad determination.

Sam always felt John when ever he stepped foot in a library. He figured it was because of the quietness of the place that made Sam's mind wander more than usual. It never occurred to him that his father was watching him, making sure his youngest was alright. The feelings he felt as his father stood nearby always brought him sadness and regret.

Their latest hunt found them in Tagweld, South Carolina checking on rumors of an old antebellum home that was haunted. To the local population it was scary stuff, but to Sam and Dean it was just your run of the mill haunted house. They decided to check it out more out of boredom than civic duty, keeping them busy and not focused on everything else in their lives.

The picturesque home had been long abandoned and the property had fallen into further ruin as local kids used it for their various parties and make out sessions. Rumors of ghosts had flitted around town for many years regarding the old place till finally it was abandoned all together. After spending a couple of hours at the local library and talking to a few old timers that were hanging around there, Sam went back to Dean with it's entire history.

"It's been empty for years. One of the old guys I was talking to said the last owner is the most likely ghost everyone claims to see. This guy, ummm Thomas Woodmont, didn't have any children so when he got old and sick there was no one to take care of him." Sam started to explain looking at his notes as they sat in the local diner.

"Great, so they just let the old man die eh?" Dean said looking around the restaurant at the rest of the diners. "I take it he died in the house? What does the obituary say?"

"There is no obituary. No one knows for sure when Woodmont died. They didn't even know he was even dead until someone noticed he'd stopped coming into town to buy his groceries and went to check on him. Apparently since he only shopped once a month, it wasn't unusual to not see him in town. The two old guys I talked to weren't even sure he was buried in the local cemetery, since none of them remembers hearing about a funeral. My guess he's buried somewhere on the property." Sam explained further.

"Well that would explain why his ghost is still walking around the place. Bet they just dug a hole and toss the poor old guy in." Dean answered back before he took another bite of his sandwich. "Lets wait till after dark and then take a look around up there. At the very least we can find this guys bones and give them a decent burial."

A few hours later they slowly drove up the long driveway to the property outside of town.

"Cool place." Dean said as he climbed out of the Impala and looked around. The old place at some point must have been a looker. Plantation shutters still hung on the windows if only by one hinge and a huge oak door greeted them as they slowly moved up the rocking chair porch. While still a large house by today's standards, for an antebellum home it was small in comparison to those they had seen back in town.

"I never figured you for the architecture type Dean." Sam lightly gave his brother a jab.

"Hey I don't only watch porn on TV you know. I like watching those restoration shows." Dean smirked back at Sam as Sam jabbed him again with his elbow. "C'mon lets go inside and look around."

With their flashlights on, they moved into the house checking out the upstairs first before returning to the first floor. Broken furniture and old beer bottles littered what must have been the living room.

"Sammy." Dean whispered to his brother motioning to him with the flashlight. Dean headed back to the kitchen and Sam quickly followed smiling at the fact that his brother felt it was necessary to whisper. The kitchen had never been updated and still had the old cast iron stove with a hand pump at the sink.

"Damn, I guess they didn't go for any of the more modern amenities did they?" Sam asked as he checked out the long dried out hand pump. The floor groaned as they moved through the kitchen. Hearing the groaning Dean was about to give his brother a warning when the whole floor suddenly dropped out sending both Winchesters into the root cellar beneath.

As Sam landed on his feet and he felt his left ankle break. Falling back, the air knocked out of his lungs, he laid there panting pain shooting up his leg, before he realized what had happened.

"Dean" he called out to his brother weakly trying to find his lost flashlight. "Dean where are you?"

"_Help your brother."_ Sam suddenly heard inside his head. Dean had landed on top a work bench and was laying on it's smashed remains unconscious. "Dean!" Sam called out a few more times until he heard his brother start to move around a few feet away from him. Groaning a little as he regained consciousness Dean sat up and reached around for his flashlight. Finally finding it, he flipped it back on and looked around the room for his brother.

"Over here." Sam called out when he saw the Dean's flashlight come on.

"You okay?" Dean asked still a little dazed when he finally found Sam in the dark.

"Yeah but I think my ankle is busted." Sam answered. "What about you?"

"I hit my head and probably cracked a few ribs." Dean answered back gingerly moving around. Suddenly he stopped when he heard his father's voice in his head. _"Get your brother out of there"_

"Yes sir." He answered unconsciously as he moved towards Sam.

"What?" Sam asked when he heard Dean speak. "Dean, you sure you're okay?"

"Dad says we have to get out of here." Dean answered back not realizing how that sounded to his worried brother. Sam's fears were compounded when he saw the blood dripping down Dean's face as he finally got over to him. When Dean saw Sam's reaction he waved him off.

"I'm good, lets get you out of here." He said shining the flashlight on Sam's ankle checking it out. Sam gasped when Dean touched his ankle and the pain once again began to shoot up and down his leg.

"Sorry Sammy." Dean apologized when he heard his brother gasp. "It's gonna hurt even more when I try to put a splint on it dude."

"I'll be okay, you do what you have to do." Sam answered knowing Dean would be as gentle as he could be. Dean crawled back to the splintered work bench and grabbed a couple of the longer pieces. His side was beginning to really flare up with pain but he was determined to get back to Sam and get him out of the root cellar without hurting him further. As he picked up the pieces he was going to use he didn't notice another smaller piece with his blood all over it.

"_You can do it Dean, help your brother."_ Dean heard his father's voice in his head again. It was all the motivation that Dean needed. It took a while, both of them grunting and gasping in pain, but Dean was finally able to get his brother up the root cellar stairs and back to the Impala.

Sam quickly collapsed on the front seat and laid his head on the closed door. Wincing, his eyes shut against the pain he was feeling, he didn't notice Dean almost falling against the hood of the car as he came around to the driver's side. Barely conscious himself Dean drove off like a bat out of hell and was soon driving down the local two lane hwy.

"_Hold on Dean."_

It was an order Dean could not obey. Finally succumbing to the darkness he'd been struggling against, Dean's hands left the steering wheel and the car started heading for the trees on the side of the road.

A local Deputy sitting on the side of the road watching for drunk drivers assumed that's what he had on his hands when he saw the Impala weaving back and forth heading towards him. Quickly flipping around, he pulled up behind it, and called for back up. Suddenly the Impala veered to the shoulder and came to a stop on the side of the road. The Deputy pulled up behind them and got out of the car. As he approached the drivers side door he leaned down and noticed Sam slumped against the passenger side door.

"You in the Driver's seat, come out slowly with your hands up. You in the back seat stay right where you are." the Deputy called out to the car. Not getting a response, he put his hand on his weapon and approached the car cautiously. Still not seeing any movement, he walked up to the driver's door and looked inside. Still assuming he was dealing with a drunk driver he was about to knock on the window when suddenly Dean's door opened and he fell out at the Deputy's feet.

"Son of a bitch!" the Deputy yelled out before reaching down to check Dean for injuries. Noticing the blood on Dean's face and side he ran back to his patrol car and immediately called for an ambulance.

"_Hang in there boys, help is on the way."_ John reassured his unconscious sons as he watched the deputy start emergency first aid.

Hours later he would continue his watch while the boys were being treated at the hospital.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam awoke with a start in the ER immediately wincing in pain as he felt the doctors probing hands on his broken ankle. Despite the pain, Sam's first thought was to look for his brother. He tried to get up off the table but stopped as pain to cascade up and down his leg. As doctors and nurses worked around him at the same time he felt gentle hands push him back down. The Doctor closest to him began shining a light into his eyes causing him to squint and turn away.

"Dean!" he called out looking around for his brother. "Dean!"

"Son you need to calm down and let us examine you." The Doctor with the light said once again shining the light into Sam's eyes. Sam continued to look around desperate to find his brother. Finally he saw Dean a few feet away in the next examination room. He watched as an oxygen mask was placed over his brother's mouth and his bloody clothes were cut away. Orders were shouted and IV's were hung as they worked in a frenzied pace around Dean and Sam began to panic when he saw how badly hurt his brother really was. Once again he tried to get up off the table to go over to his brother but the result was the same. So caught up in trying to get to Dean, he never heard his Doctor ordered a sedative nor was he aware of the nurse nearby until he felt the needle slide into his arm. As his body began to go numb something caught his eye in the corner of the room. In his darkening view he swore John was looking back at him giving him a nod.

"_Everything is going to be okay now son." _

"Dad." he called out weakly before he succumbed to the sedative.

Hours later Sam woke up in his hospital room with his broken ankle in a cast propped up on a pillow and an IV attached to his arm. The room so quiet all he could hear was the pounding of his heart. Immediately he began to think about Dean. As he struggled to get his eyes to focus a familiar shape emerged in the corner of his room, John.

"_Your brother is gonna be just fine."_ John said with a confident smile before disappearing.

Sam laid there stunned at his father's appearance.

"What the hell kinda pain medicine do they have me on?" He asked shaking his head before grabbing the call button and pressed it repeatedly. A nurse quickly came in giving him a calming smile as she approached.

"Mr. Kenton I see you are awake now." She said fixing the pillow under his cast. It took him a second to recognize the alias he and Dean had set up for medical emergencies.

"My brother Dean, he was brought in the same time I was. Please I have to know if he's okay." He pleaded as the nurse came around to the side of the bed.

"Your brothers Doctor left word at the nurse's desk that he was to be called when you woke up. I'll just go call him and find out what your brothers condition is." The nurse replied in a calm voice as she adjusted his IV.

"Thank you." Sam said lying his head back down on the bed. Pain continued to shoot from his leg but he didn't care. All he was thinking about at this moment was how badly Dean was hurt. Sam knew it had to be bad or Dean would have been at his bedside when he came to. Minutes dragged on. Sam's heart raced as he waited for any word, any tidbit of news about his brother. He reluctantly closed his eyes, the events of the last 24 hours catching up with him. He'd meant it to only be for a second but soon he was fast asleep.

Sam heard voices in the hall outside his door the next time he opened his eyes. He pushed the call button again and was surprised to see a new nurse instantly appear. Behind her a Deputy walked in and stood at the foot of his bed. Apprehensive Sam looked at the Deputy and then at the nurse, whose name tag said her name was Cindy.

"Mr. Kenton, this is Deputy Jennings. He was hoping he could ask you some questions about what happened to you and your brother." Cindy asked nodding over to the Deputy.

"Please call me Sam, yeah sure, but what about my brother? Is there any word about Dean? Please ma'am I have to know if he's okay." Sam pleaded again.

"Doctor Thompson was the OR Doctor that performed the surgery on your brother. He left word a couple of hours ago that your brother was doing fine and that his surgery was successful. By now he should be out of recovery. I'll call down there and see what room he has been transferred to."

"Surgery, oh my god. I want to be able to go see him. Do you think that will be possible, I mean after I'm done talking with the Deputy?" Sam sat up again ignoring the throbbing pain in his leg.

"No promises, Mr. Kenton but I'll see what his Doctor says about a visit. Now lie back down and try not to excite yourself further. I'll be down at the nurse's station if you need anything else." She said with an assuring smile and a nod back to the Deputy before leaving the room. Sam laid back down as Deputy Jennings pulled out his note book.

"Now son, I just need to ask you a few questions about what happened. I was the Deputy that found y'all on the side of the road and got you here to the hospital. I could have sworn I saw someone else in the car but when I approached I could only see you two." He asked looking straight at Sam. "Now your brother was bleeding rather badly an' you were unconscious sitting in the passenger seat so I'm just a little curious how you two got that way."

"Dean and I, we were just passing through. We're kinda on a long road trip together, and anyways we heard about this old house that was supposedly haunted…." Sam started deciding to tell him the truth…..well as much truth as he could.

"The old Woodmont place?" the Deputy interrupted making a notation.

"Yeah, that's the place. Anyway we were walking around inside and got back into the kitchen area when the floor gave way. Suddenly Dean and I were down in this root cellar. I guess Dean fell on some work table or something, I'm not sure. My ankle was pretty busted and he managed to pull the both of us up the cellar stairs and back out to our car. I didn't know he was that badly hurt until I woke up in the ER and saw them working on him." Sam stopped as he suddenly thought about something the Deputy had just said. "What do you mean you thought you saw someone else in the car?"

"Your car was swervin' pretty badly so I pulled up behind you thinkin' y'all was a couple of guys who'd had a little too much party time. Then suddenly your car swerved over to the shoulder an' stopped dead on the side of the road. I thought I saw someone reach over the front seat an' grab the steering wheel but when I got up to the car there was only you an' your brother inside. Somehow before he lost consciousness, your brother must've managed to get the car stopped or you would've probably ended up rollin' down the embankment." The Deputy said with a warily smile. "An' that's quite a drop, 'bout 10 feet or so."

"You don't know my brother, he'd do anything to protect his car. Are you going to arrest us for trespassing?" Sam asked knowing technically they were in the wrong to be entering private property even if it was abandoned.

"One of the neighbors spotted your car headin up to the house an' had already called it in. It's bad enough we can't keep the local kids out, now we have to watch out for you outsiders as well." The Deputy continued, shaking his head. "They keep boardin it up and somehow y'all keep getting into it, though I can't say we've had too many calls about the place in recent years. Now I'm just gonna to give you stiff warning this time, considerin what happened to you an' your brother. I assume you won't be visiting anymore 'haunted' houses in our town anytime soon?"

"No sir, not after today." Sam answered honestly. The Deputy closed his notebook and stuck it back in his pocket.

"Then you're both free to go. I hope your brother is okay. Oh an' by the way, your car was towed over to Lloyds Garage. They'll keep it over there until y'all feeling better and can go get it." Deputy Jennings said as he headed for the door. "An' don't worry it will be safe over there."

"Thank you Deputy, that's my brother's pride and joy. If anything had happened to it….." Sam looked down at his hands remembering what had happened to the car most recently. His mind was suddenly flooded with memories of the accident, the hospital, and his father's death. "My Dad gave that car to my brother. He just died a few weeks ago so it's kinda sentimental to us."

"I'm, sorry about your loss son. Well y'all take care an' I hope your brother is okay." Deputy Jennings said with a nod as he turned and left the room. Seeing the deputy leave, Cindy came back to Sam's room after getting off the phone with Dean's doctor. Sam's eyes lit up as she walked in, hoping that she had news about Dean.

"Any word about my brother?" he asked hopeful when he saw the nurse enter the room. Cindy came over to the side of Sam's bed and gave him a big smile.

"I just got off the phone with your brothers Doctor. He told me your brother is awake and he's been asking for you. He thinks it will be okay for you to spend a few minutes with him as long as it doesn't tire him out too much." She gently touched his arm as she spoke, knowing how much he had been waiting for good news.

"Thank god he's awake!" Sam said sitting up quickly, maybe too quickly. The room spun and round for a second Sam thought he was going to be sick to his stomach.

"Now you need to take it easy Sam. The Doctor's in the middle of rounds and you won't be able to see him for at least another half hour." Cindy reassured him gently pushing him back down. "So just relax now, it's only a little while longer."

"You'll come and get me the minute I can see him?" Sam asked trying to use his puppy dog eyes to his advantage. Cindy smiled but didn't fall for the ploy.

"I promise." She said before turning around and leaving the room.

"Damn it Dean you'd better be okay."

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Authors note: I know this seems like a strange place to stop but if I continued on it would have been a very long chapter and I wanted to leave something for the next one. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I really appreciate your encouraging words.


	3. Chapter 3

Authors note: Sorry for the delay. As feared my muse died and when I went to take her back they said I couldn't get a refund. So I picked up a new one and sure enough she started working right away…...on a totally new story. It took some doing but I finally got her back on track with this one and this is the result. I hope you like it and forgive me for taking so long. Thanks for reading.

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Sam reluctantly laid back down. The clock ticked agonizingly slow as Sam try to think of anything but Dean to make the time go faster. Finally 45 minutes later Cindy reentered Sam's room with an orderly pushing a wheelchair. It took a few minutes longer to get Sam situated into the wheelchair with his leg propped up but soon they were on their way to Dean's room. Sam's fears were quickly relieved when he rolled into Dean's room and Dean immediately looked over at him.

"Hey there." Dean said weakly as the orderly pushed Sam up to his bed.

"Jesus, Dean are you okay?" Sam asked looking over at the IV's and monitors surrounding his brother.

"Well considering I have a concussion, a lacerated kidney, and two cracked ribs I'd say I'm doing good. What about you? How's your ankle?" Dean asked quickly deflecting Sam's attention back on himself.

"It's busted up pretty good. Looks like we're both gonna be out of commission for a while." Sam quickly answered before he realized what Dean had said. "What do you mean lacerated kidney?"

"Just what I said. Listen dude, it's not that serious. It's not like I'm gonna lose my kidney or anything, ok? When I landed on that table, a piece of wood just sorta poked me in the side, that's all. I'll be good as new in a few days, I promise." Dean said reassuring Sam who didn't totally believe him.

"Dean what about Woodmont?" Sam asked, his thoughts returning to the hunt.

"Yeah I was thinking about that a little while ago. I'm gonna be stuck here for a few more days and you sure as hell can't walk around that old place by yourself. Not that you couldn't handle a salt and burn yourself it's just, if things go south, I don't think you'll be able to out run it on crutches. Face it Sammy, we might just have to wait awhile on this one." Dean said, hating the fact that they might not be able to finish the hunt the way they were. "Did the doctors tell you when they were gonna let you loose from this place yet?"

"I guess sometime tomorrow. They want to make sure I'm gonna be able to get around with my leg like this. I guess it's a good thing it's my left ankle that's busted or I wouldn't be able to drive the Impala. Oh yeah the deputy said they towed the car to some local place." Sam said forgetting he was the only one who had spoken to the officer.

"Deputy? What deputy?" Dean asked sitting up, temporarily forgetting about the hunt and instantly worried they might now be in trouble with the law. Immediately he winced as he felt the stitches pull on his side. Regretting that rash decision he quickly laid back down.

"Oh yeah you don't know about that." Sam said instantly regretting that he mention the deputy. "One of the local cops pulled up behind us after you passed out on the road."

"Damn I must have been really out of it, I don't even remember pulling over." Dean shook his head trying to remember the events back in the car. "I could have gotten us killed."

"Yeah Dean, but you didn't. Somehow you managed to stop the car on the side of the road before you passed out. I was pretty much out of it as well because he said we were both unconscious by the time he got to the car. Funny thing is he said he thought he saw someone in the back seat, but when he got up to the car he saw only the two of us. I told him it was just you and me and nobody else." Sam explained. Dean quickly looked away, a pensive expression on his face.

"What is it Dean?"

"It's nothing…" Dean answered not looking at his brother.

"Yeah that's a load of crap, what's goin on?" Sam asked rolling closer to Dean's bedside. Dean looked down at his bed unable to look his brother in the face.

"You're gonna think I'm crazy but, Jesus this is gonna sound weird even for us, I was trying to drive over to the shoulder but I couldn't get my hands to work. The last thing I remember…god how to I explain this…" Dean stopped.

"Dean just tell me." Sam was getting exasperated with his brother.

"I thought I saw Dad." Dean looked right at Sam when he said it. "Right before I passed out…I thought I saw him in the rear view mirror."

"Holy crap!" Sam exclaimed as he leaned back in the wheelchair.

"Yeah I told you it was gonna sound weird." Dean leaned back as well. The two of them sat silent in the room until Sam spoke up again.

"Dean….um I don't know how to tell you…. but I think I saw Dad too. I think he spoke to me in the emergency room."

"Jesus you're kidding me. What did Dad say to you?" Dean asked relieved that Sam believed him.

"He said everything was going to be fine, and that you were going to be okay. He just stood there watching what was going on and then he smiled at me and then just disappeared." Sam looked at Dean with disbelief. "You don't think that's who the deputy saw in the back of the Impala do you?"

"You mean you think Dad some how got the car over to the side of the road?" Dean asked amazed at the thought of John saving their lives in the afterlife, but then he stopped. "Stranger things have happened. There's been plenty of times when I thought I saw him out of the corner of my eye only to look and not see anything there. I think if anyone knew of a way to come back Dad would."

"Leave it to Dad to find a way to keep an eye on us from the afterlife." Sam said a little too sarcastically. "Like we didn't have to worry about him judging the way we were doing things before, now we still have to worry about him picking everything apart even after he's dead. It's like he can't trust us."

"Well Sammy maybe he can't. I mean, we walked right in, didn't do any real research of the place 'cept for those few old clippings at the library and a few old stories from the locals. I mean what did we really know before we barged right in. And then what, we just stood there while the floor dropped right out from underneath us. Seems if we were really following in the old mans footsteps we would have had floor plans or a least a basic idea of what we were going into. I'm as much to blame as you are. Hell we heard about this place at that truck stop in Columbia, and what do we do, we just show up and start walking around inside. At the very least we should have split up so that if one of us got into trouble the other one was free to come to the rescue. The irony is we didn't even get a chance to do anything about this Woodmont guy because we both ended up in the root cellar. Dad would have said we behaved like amateurs and not any soldier he trained." Dean stopped and winced again as he shifted around in his bed.

"Too bad he didn't think to make an appearance at the house in time to warn us about the floor." Sam said irritated that his brother was right. They _weren't _behaving like their father had taught them and now they were laid up and unable to complete the hunt. Dean glared at Sam, causing him to quickly look away, and fiddle with his wheelchair. Dean saw his brother's discomfort and hesitated before he spoke again.

"Sam it's not like Dad didn't trust us. Personally if he is hangin around then I feel a whole lot better knowing he's looking out for us." Dean smiled as reached over and slapped Sam on his arm. Sam looked back at his brother and nodded.

"You're right of course." Sam conceded smiling back. "Now I just wish he would get back here to tell us how we're gonna take care of Woodmont now that we're laid up."

"Yeah…" Dean said as he looked off in the distance. "I don't think it works that way."

They sat together in silence for a moment. So many times Dean had wished his father was still around to give him advice and even Sammy admitted he missed his father as well despite their tumultuous relationship. Lost opportunity and regret. Two emotions both boys were very much in tune with. Finally Dean spoke up.

"This Woodmont guys been around for decades so I don't think he's gonna go anywhere anytime soon. When you get out of here tomorrow, find us a place to hole up for awhile. I say some place we can stay a maybe two or three weeks. Your ankle ought to be a least walkable by then and I should be at least semi up to par. We'll try again then."

"I'm sure there's a bed and breakfast around here somewhere." Sam said knowing how Dean felt about B&B's.

"Dude a bed and breakfast? No fricken way…" he stopped and looked at Sammy incredulously.

"Got ya" Sam laughed at his brother's reaction. Dean started laughing as well but stopped when he felt the pull of the stitches in his side.

"Dude that was just cruel." Dean said shaking his head while he held his side still. "Remember little brother vengeance is a bitch."

"Don't I know it?" Sam reply running his hands through his hair, remembering the Nair incident.

The next day Sammy got the Impala back from the local garage and found them a reasonable motel room. A few days later Dean joined him and they spent the next week relaxing and hanging out with the locals. Keeping a low profile as much as they could they returned to the library and did more research. Dean gained strength every day and soon felt they were ready to go back to the property to do a reconnaissance of the estate.

One of the locals and given them the location of the old family cemetery but after checking it out they found only graves for previous owners and nothing marked with the Woodmont family name. Undaunted they continued under a full moon and were soon rewarded with an unmarked grave under a big oak tree.

"Looks like this is it." Sam said hobbling on his crutches. Dean dropped their shovels and packs on the ground next to the grave and took a deep breath as he felt his side pull.

"Your side still bothering you Dean?" Sam asked concerned rushing to Dean's side.

"I'm good. I'm good. Let's get this bastard toasted shall we?" Dean said quickly covering up the pain he was still feeling.

"No way Dean. There's no way I'm gonna let you start digging when your side is still messed up. Here let me do it." Sam said bending over on his crutches to pick one up. Almost losing his balance he managed to grab one and made an attempt at digging before his brother stopped him.

"Jesus dude look at the two of us. There's no way you're gonna be able to do this and there's no way I'm gonna be able to. Face it we're gonna have to put this off for a few more days till both of us are physically able to get down into the grave." Dean hated to admit defeat but he knew he wasn't in any condition for heavy digging and certainly Sammy wasn't going to be able to as well.

"Let's hope Dad doesn't pick this time to come around and see us giving up on a hunt." Sam said agreeing with his brother.

"We're not giving up, we're just let's say, living to fight another day. C'mon Sammy lets go back to the motel and call it a night." Dean said taking back Sam's shovel and stooping down to pick up the other. Sam grabbed the packs and reluctantly they started back to the car. They were all the way across the property and back to the car when Dean turned around and saw flames coming from where they had just been standing.

"Son of a bitch!" Dean yelled before he started running back to the grave. Sammy quickly followed as fast as he could. They stood there astonished as they watched flames burning brightly from the freshly dug grave and heard the bones and wood of the coffin crackle and moan. Looking at each other with amazement both of them looked around to see who it was that could have helped them. Dean was the one who spotted him first. He slapped Sam's arm and pointed to a figure a few yards away standing in the moonlight.

It was John.

"No way." Sam exclaimed as he and Dean both watched their father smile at them before he turned and walked away into the darkness.

"Yeah way dude. The old man comes through once again." Dean said giving Sam a big smile.

"You think we'll ever see him again?" Sam asked smiling back at Dean.

"Hey this is John Winchester you're talking about. Apparently anything is possible." Dean said shaking his head before he started laughing. "Son of a bitch…."

They stood there watching where their father had just stood for a few minutes longer.

"C'mon Sammy lets go." Dean gave his brother a friendly nudge. Sam returned the nudge and the two of them walked back to the car, each thinking about how lucky they were to have their father still keeping watch over them.

The End.


End file.
